The Jensen Huang affair, id Software veterans avoid doom, and the genAI debate reaches fever pitch - Headliner [13/11/26]

Morning (just about)! I've got a bunch of chunky headlines for you this week that encapsulate what has been an ungodly week for news. Even as someone who spends far too much time careening down the information highway, it has been difficult to keep tabs on the sheer volume of stories that broke this week.

Monday feels like a distant fever dream, but that's actually when the tomfoolery surrounding the IGF awards and Big Walk kicked off. I know, right—there's no way that was FOUR whole days ago. In any case, we made it. I'm just about ready to trot to a cafe and wolf down a mammoth sarnie. I'm feeling tuna mayo, today.

I suggest you do something similar while you read this newsletter. What will you go for? A decadent chicken and bacon medley? The punishing choice that is 'Just Ham.'? A vibrant coronation chickpea barm? Opportunity awaits!

I assume we've all had a good chuckle at the absurd way in which Jensen Huang's departure from Nvidia unfolded. A fling with an alleged Chinese honeypot. Multiple affairs with direct reports. Share prices in tatters. You just know someone is going to make a movie about this someday. My money is on Aaron Sorkin. The bigger picture, of course, is more serious. The Verge breaks down how at least one of Huang's dalliances raises questions in relation to chip smuggling in the direction of China—specifically, in the direction of firms blacklisted by the U.S. government. Huang previously stressed there is "no evidence of any AI chip diversion" within Nvidia. Guess we'll just take his word for it.

The Jensen Huang scandal is hardly over

A second affair has hit the news cycle, but that’s not what matters here.

The VergeElizabeth Lopatto

A draft of the EU's proposed Digital Fairness Act leaked this week and caused absolute bedlam. The policy states that loot boxes must be turned off by default for minors and pushes for age ratings to become a hard legal requirement. George Osborn over at VGIM published the first breakdown, and it's an essential read if you're at all curious how regulators could drastically alter the status quo—for live-service and free-to-play titles, in particular—over in Europe.

Digital Fairness Act leaked! Playing Politics special edition

And it’s baddddd news for video game companies using in-game purchases 💀

Video Games Industry MemoGeorge E. Osborn